1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi position bottle guide assembly and, more particularly, to pneumatically conveying plastic bottles suspended from neck rails while applying stabilizing forces to the lower portions of the bottles.
2. Description of the Background Art
Many types of plastic bottles are in wide use today throughout the carbonated beverage and other industries, in large part, because of their economical cost to manufacture. Such plastic bottles are usually formed from injection molded parisons having threaded upper necks, lower cylinders closed at the bottom, and neck support rings therebetween. The parisons are then blow molded beneath the neck support rings into the desired size and shape by heating the parisons in molds while blowing air internally.
Blow molded plastic bottles have been traditionally shaped with cylindrical side walls throughout the majority of their lower extents and with high-angle, conically-shaped, transition portions between the upper ends of the cylindrical side walls and the neck support rings. The transition portions thus functions to join the upper, small diameter, threaded portions with the lower, large diameter, side wall portions. The side walls are enlarged to any one of a plurality of standard sizes.
Plastic bottles are normally conveyed while suspended by their neck support rings from spaced parallel neck rails. The bottles are conveyed continuously, in a contiguous orientation with the cylindrical side walls of all bottles in a fed stream touching the next adjacent bottles, front and back, with long lines of contact. The motives force for conveying is supplied by a high volume, low pressure plenum chamber above the neck rails. The directional force for conveying is supplied through louvers in the plenum chamber walls. Side rails preclude lateral shifting of the bottles while being conveyed. Forward and rearward swinging of the bottles occurs to a limited extent but is not a significant problem.
It has been found, however, that conveying problems arise when plastic bottles of different sizes are conveyed by a common conveyor. Such conveying problems are due in large part to improperly located side rails. Further, the proper positioning of side rails to accommodate bottles of a next size, different from a prior size, can be a time consuming project resulting in excessive down time and unnecessary costs. When side rails are not positioned properly, misfeeds result with even more down time and greater inconvenience and cost.
Pneumatic conveying systems for plastic bottles with neck rings are in wide use today and are described in the patent literature. Note for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,284,370 to Danier and 4,822,214 to Aidlin. No known pneumatic conveying system, however, has the capability to provide side rails with automatic repositioning of the side rails as a function of the size of the bottles being fed.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the pneumatic conveyors.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved multi position bottle guide assembly for bottles suspended by a neck ring and conveyed by pneumatic power comprising a pair of elongated guide rails positioned along the path of travel of a bottle which is pneumatically conveyed while supported by a neck ring. The rails are adapted to be in proximity to the sides of the bottle on opposite sides of its path of travel to preclude lateral movement. Also included are support means for the rails located at ends of the rails. Further included are a plurality of rods for supporting the rails. Each rod has coupling means for the support means at a first end and has a piston at the second end. Also included is a block for each rod which has a bore of a diameter essentially that of the diameter of its piston and extends through the block with its axis in alignment with the axis of the rod. Further included is a pair of axially spaced pneumatic ports which extend through the block in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the bore and on opposite sides of the piston whereby when pressurized air is introduced through the port adjacent to the rail, the piston moves away from the rail to accommodate larger bottles and when pressurized air is introduced into the port remote from the rail, the piston is moved towards the rail to accommodate smaller bottles.
It is a further object of the invention to convey plastic bottles in a more efficient, reliable and rapid manner.
It is a further object of the invention to abate misfeeds of bottles conveyed by pneumatic conveyors.
It is a further object of the invention to apply a lateral stabilizing force to the lower portions of bottles of any one of a plurality of sizes being conveyed for thereby eliminating lateral swinging with attendant misfeeds.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide guide rails which are adjustable to facilitate the feeding of bottles of various sizes.
It is a further object of the invention to more efficiently convey various sized bottles.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.